Inspired by the book The Divine Comedy (Divina Comedia) by Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri comes Brazilian thrash legend's Sepultura's latest CD Dante XXI. Quite frankly, this is the album that Sepultura needed to make, as their former bandmate Max Cavalera and his band Soulfly have really been making waves the last few years. Dante XXI is a polished and mature concoction of punishing guitar riffs from Andreas Kisser, angry vocals from Derrick Green (the only American in the band), and the brutal & relentless rhythm section of bassist Paolo Pinto and drummer Igor Cavalera.

One thing this release has going for it is that it flows from beginning to end, almost achieving a feel of one long piece broken up into sections much like Meshuggah's Catch Thirty-Three. Kisser's guitar work chugs and bashes through such tracks as "False" and "Dark Wood of Error", as he throws in just enough fills and quick leads amidst the heavy and furious riffing. For the first time Green really sounds in command on a Sepultura recording-his vocals for the most part have a sense of assuredness and power that was lacking on previous albums, and he tends to actually sing more here than just scream. Songs like "Fighting On" and "Buried Words" see him mixing hardcore like barks with emotional metal shouts that perfectly mesh with the aggressive and speedy instrumental attack from the rest of the band. Dante XXI also contains some of the bands most diverse and almost progressive sounding playing yet, as there are more than a few instrumental interludes on the CD, culminating in the closing "Still Flames", a moody and atmospheric piece highlighted by eerie guitar effects and percussion.

Sadly, for a concept piece, the album is a little short and under 40 minutes, so before you know it the CD is over. However, in an era of bloated 79 minute albums, that might not be such a bad thing. I think Sepultura are going to surprise a lot of people with this one, as they have steered away from the normal extreme bombast a bit and put together something for the thinking man's metal fan out there.

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